City Prep seeks freshman college students after profitable authorized battle

Photograph caption: URBAN PREP ACADEMY is now searching for freshman college students after profitable a lawsuit in opposition to Chicago Public Faculties, which was transferring City Prep’s enrollment of 400 college students to CPS. Choose Anna M. Loftus dominated in favor of City Prep, declaring CPS violated the state’s moratorium, which banned faculty closures, consolidations or mergers till January15, 2025, when the brand new elected Faculty Board is seated. 

If you would like your male pupil to get a top quality, holistic public schooling that features programs in Black historical past, civics, self-pride, battle decision, and the right way to respect ladies, the doorways to each the City Prep Englewood and Bronzeville campuses are open to anybody dwelling in Chicago.

That was the message from Dennis Lacewell, chief tutorial officer of City Prep Academies, who late on Saturday, August 5, stated mother and father can convey their sons to both City Prep Englewood, at 6201 S. Stewart Ave., or to the Bronzeville campus at 521 E. thirty fifth St.

Lacewell is busy reaching out to the 300 returning college students who might haven’t acquired the excellent news that Cook dinner County Choose Anna M. Loftus dominated in favor of the all-male Black faculty managed by African American directors.

Loftus dominated in opposition to CPS’s deliberate takeover of City Prep as a result of it violated the Illinois moratorium legislation 105ILS5/34-1869, which states that the “Board shall not approve any faculty closings, consolidations, or phase-outs till the Board of Schooling is seated on January 15, 2025.”

Nonetheless, earlier CPS did shut the downtown City Prep faculty citing low enrollment. Lacewell stated that was ironic since low enrollment plagued all public Chicago faculties, however they didn’t contest it as a result of CPS was attempting to get rid of all of their City Prep faculties.

However now that the authorized mud has settled, Lacewell and Troy Boyd, chief working officer of City Prep Academies, are shifting ahead for the sake of the scholars they wish to put together for school.

City Prep has a model and a mission to proceed graduating Black boys and sending them to varsity. He stated for 2020, the commencement fee for the typical of their three faculties was 91.5. In 2022, the commencement fee was 90.5 for the three faculties. He’s ready for the numbers for the 2023 however stated it is going to be related.

Lacewell stated one hundred pc of the scholars had been accepted to four-year faculties, however he’s nonetheless gathering knowledge on those that have enrolled.

Nonetheless, he stated, “one hundred pc of our younger males acquired precise acceptance to a four-year faculty as all City Prep graduates have since 2010 and this 12 months as effectively. We had one hundred pc of our graduates accepted to varsity, which makes 14 years in a row that each one of our seniors acquired one hundred pc acceptance.”

In accordance with Lacewell, the Faculty Board discovered that solely 30 % of Black males who graduated from highschool had earned the minimal necessities to be accepted to a four-year faculty. Lacewell in contrast that to City Prep’s report and stated, “It’s an enormous deal that our boys acquired one hundred pc acceptance.”

Having simply graduated 100 seniors who all have faculty scholarships, Lacewell stated with 95 % of City Prep college students returning, he’s trying to obtain extra freshmen. Nonetheless, all college students are welcome at both campus. “We’ve got loads of area,” he advised the Chicago Crusader.

Whereas faculty begins on Monday, August 21, Lacewell stated City Prep begins its orientation for freshmen college students on Thursday, August 10, and on Friday, August 11, for tenth, eleventh and twelfth grade returning college students.

Freshmen Academy for incoming freshmen will probably be held on Monday, August 14, to acclimate college students to “City Prep tradition” earlier than the arrival of the returning college students. “So, mother and father can convey their sons now to both campus from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday by means of Friday to start the method,” in keeping with Lacewell.

Requested what includes orientation at City Prep Academies, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit group that operates a community of all-boys public faculties, together with the nation’s first constitution highschool for boys, Lacewell defined that college students assessment the varsity’s expectations for the upcoming faculty 12 months, uniform necessities, and make contact with data.

At City Prep, all college students should put on uniforms comprised of Khaki-colored pants, together with a belt, and white long-sleeve shirts, a purple tie and black or brown sneakers. City Prep officers buy the varsity blazers. “We go over the varsity’s expectations and the code-of-conduct.”

Requested why you will need to put on uniforms, Lacewell stated, “We would like our younger males to study the significance of enterprise and never being overseas to this career. We train them that faculty is their enterprise, and we’re right here to conduct enterprise and are in full uniform.”

When requested to clarify the varsity’s code-of-conduct, Lacewell stated it entails educating younger males the right way to conduct themselves, have core values “not simply to exhibit and dwell by not simply at City Prep however all through their lives.”

The varsity’s eight core values, or R.I.S.E.S.F.A.R., are: resilience, integrity, selflessness, exceptionality, solidarity, religion, accountability and relentlessness.

“These are the core values that we have now to exhibit by means of life to achieve success as accountable younger males and fathers. We’ve got to dwell these core values all through our communities.” Lacewell stated core values are always being mentioned and taught to the scholars.

Additionally at City Prep, college students are taught battle decision, instilling the artwork of de-escalating a state of affairs and strolling away slightly than partaking in violence.

Requested if Black historical past is taught, Lacewell stated, “We’ve got this phrase—know your tradition, historical past and your identification. Of their freshmen 12 months, they take Africana Research. Of their sophomore 12 months, they take African American literature. Of their junior 12 months, they take African American historical past and of their senior 12 months, our younger males take Civics and Social Activism.

“All through our curriculum, our younger males will know their tradition, their historical past and their identification as a result of it’s important to know these three issues with the intention to really develop into productive residents benefiting our communities,” he stated.

“We wish to get past educating our younger males the right way to be an assimilationist, an integrationist or just deal with capitalism,” Lacewell stated. “We’ve got to know that to be an excellent contribution to our neighborhood, we have now to have a real understanding of self.”

Taking a quote from Tom Burrell’s e book, “Brainwashed,” Lacewell acknowledged, “Black individuals are not ‘dark-skinned white individuals,’ so we have now to know the significance of figuring out our tradition, historical past, and our identification as a result of that adjustments how we transfer and the way we’re productive on this society.

“It’s not about specializing in simply getting cash and being completed. It’s specializing in neighborhood and on enchancment as an entire as Black individuals,” stated Lacewell.

When requested if he teaches the younger boys the right way to deal with girls, Lacewell stated, “We’ve got 4 pillars that make up our tradition—the 4 ‘R’s’—relationships, respect, rituals and accountability. It’s our accountability as males to verify we’re respecting all individuals, notably ladies.”

He stated the scholars are taught by Black males and others. “We would like our younger males to have respect of their interactions with the alternative intercourse, with Black ladies and the way necessary that’s.”

Lacewell stated they deal with their college students as Mr. and use their final names, and the scholars are reciprocal. “It’s a part of the 4 ‘R’s’ in respecting one another.” He teaches them that they might be upset with one another however [should do] it respectfully. “We don’t have to make use of inappropriate language and curse out somebody. If you refer to one another as Mr., that de-escalates the state of affairs,” he defined.

That is the creed of City Prep that helps mildew constructive, Black boys turning them into well-rounded and disciplined younger males with the bulk anxious to go on to varsity and a few to specialty faculties. Their motto is “We imagine,” and that is what they’re taught.

“We’re the younger males of City Prep. We’re faculty certain.

“We’re distinctive—not as a result of we are saying it, however as a result of we work laborious at it. We is not going to falter within the face of any impediment positioned earlier than us.

“We’re devoted, dedicated and centered. We by no means succumb to mediocrity, uncertainty, or concern. We by no means fail as a result of we by no means quit.

“We make no excuses. We select to dwell truthfully, nonviolently and honorably. We respect ourselves and, in doing so, respect all individuals.

“We’ve got a future for which we’re accountable. We’ve got a accountability for our households, neighborhood and world. We’re our brothers’ keepers.

“We imagine in ourselves. We imagine in one another. We imagine in City Prep. WE BELIEVE.”